Punjab court decides rape case in 48 hours

Hoshiarpur (Punjab), Feb 15 (IANS) It took just 48 working hours for a court in this Punjab district to decide a rape case, and sentence the accused.

Additional district and sessions judge J.S. Bhinder Friday sentenced Manu Paswan, who belongs to Bihar, to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for raping a minor girl of Puglana village in this district.

The matter came before the court on Tuesday (Feb 12) and the judgment was delivered Friday. Thursday was a local holiday here. All witnesses were examined on Wednesday (Feb 13).

The court convicted Paswan on charges that he allured a 17-year-old girl by promising to marry her and took her with him September last year. He kept her at different places but did not marry her. The victim's father complained to police that she was missing.

Paswan claimed that the girl went willingly with him. However, she said that she was taken away forcibly.

The court of judge Bhinder had last week announced its decision on another rape case in just three days.